The Constitution Unit

Prospects for the House of Commons Modernisation Committee

Episode Summary

An expert panel discussed the new House of Commons Modernisation Committee.

Episode Notes

The House of Commons has established a new Modernisation Committee with a remit ‘to consider reforms to House of Commons procedures, standards, and working practices’. This reflects a Labour manifesto commitment, and echoes the Modernisation Committee appointed in 1997 under the last Labour government.

As the committee gets up and running this autumn, it faces a number of important questions. How should it approach its work, what issues might it address, and what lessons can it learn from past efforts to reform the Commons? We discussed these questions with an expert panel.

Speakers:

• Greg Power – former special adviser to two Leaders of the House of Commons, and Founder and Board Chair of Global Partners Governance
• Dr Sue Griffiths – Clerk to the previous House of Commons Modernisation Committee 2007–08, and Managing Director of Social Development Direct
• Dr Tom Fleming – Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics, Constitution Unit

Chair: Professor Meg Russell – Director of the Constitution Unit

Useful reading:

• Commons Modernisation Committee publishes key strategic aims for reform
• The House of Commons Modernisation Committee: background, opportunities, and potential pitfalls by Tom Fleming and Hannah Kelly
• The personal side of parliamentary reform by Greg Power

For those interested in keeping up to date with the Modernisation Committee, you can subscribe to its email list using this link.